Concert 11/15/2015

This past Sunday I had the amazing pleasure of going to my first concert in Spanish. Being a native of South Florida and of Cuban parents, Spanish was my first language. Yet growing up Spanish music wasn't on the forefront of the music in my house. When Roy and I started dating we found, through getting to know one another, we had similar taste in music with the exception of Spanish/Latin music. Even though growing up in a similar household as his, my parents influenced on my sister and myself the passion for all things that rock. From The Beatles to Queen and everything in between, music in our house was always in english. I remember being a young child and listening to Billy Joel with my dad and learning every word to 'Piano Man' because to this day, that's still his favorite song. So you can imagine that when asked if I like any Spanish artist, very few came to mind. The Spanish music in my house consisted of Willy Chirino, Celia Cruz, Marc Anthony, and so on. They were played but not as a majority.

On a date one night Roy asked if I had ever heard of two artist. One was Antonio Orozco and the other was Pablo Alboran. Being new to our relationship and always wanting to expand my musical ear I went in search of each of their music. To my surprise I found both had a unique style each their own. Though Pablo Alboran was the one who stuck. Over the past 3 years I've heard his music and found it was very relaxing. There have been two other artist before him who's voice had the same effect on me, Brandon Boyd of Incubus and John Mayer.

Living in Miami,FL we are deemed a "dead zone" for concerts because of how far south artists have to travel to come down here and the amount of travel time it takes to leave. Most end up in West Palm Beach as a chosen destination because of its location about an hour and fifteen minutes north of Miami. So it was a surprise to find out that earlier this year Pablo had been in concert here in Miami. Unfortunately I was unable to go because my mother in law forgot to tell me about the concert; thinking we wouldn't be interested. (This is far from the truth.) I patiently waited knowing that he would return.

For mother's day my sister and I made a video of old family photos for my mom. When looking for songs for the video we knew that we had to include Il Volo, as my mom loves them. But we also needed a few more to complete the 15 minute video. I remembered a song by Pablo Alboran that I found to be quite endearing. Titled "Solamente Tu" (Only You) I knew it would be a perfect fit as the first song in the video. Needless to say it made her cry.

This summer, just before my uncle was sick, I started checking Ticket Master on a frequent basis hoping that tickets to a Miami concert would be on sale. It took a few weeks but finally at the end of July 2015, tickets went on sale. I immediately asked Roy if he wanted to go making sure he knew I would attend with or without him. I missed my opportunity once and I wasn't planning on missing another one. Roy purchased our tickets as part of my anniversary gift and I was beside myself. It felt as though the concert was so far away. (Even though realistically it was just a few months)

With everything that went on at the end of August with my uncle and his passing in early September I had forgotten all about the concert. But his music along with John Mayer's and Incubus were all I listened to to help calm the grief that was looking to swallow me whole.   On our anniversary Roy reminded me of the tickets and once again my excitement return. I listened to everyone song I had downloaded from iTunes and on Spotify. I must've had them on repeat because I learned every word to almost every song. I was beyond excited to focus my energy on something positive that I'd been looking forward to just a few months before.

When Sunday came around I was all but beside myself to go. Making sure we made it early to not miss a moment of the concert. Although it ran a bit late I didn't care I was just happy to be there. Now here's the thing about The Fillmore at Jackie Gleason, its a small venue that is also very intimate. It makes you feel as though you're in a private concert rather than with a few hundred people. When Pablo came out and began the show I all but teared up.  The first song was from his new album 'Terral' titled "La Escalera" (The Stairs) from there on it was one amazing song after the other. The concert he dedicated to the people of France and to say no to terrorism. It was a beautiful message. The concert lasted just under two hours and it was amazing to say the least. There honestly are no words to really describe it.

"Solamente Tu"

At the end he surprised us and came back out to do another set of his popular songs. The first was "Solamente Tu" which I recorded and sent to my sister and "Por Fin" (At Last/Finally) a song I dedicated to Roy. After the last song the show officially ended and we left to have a late dinner.

"Por Fin"

All in all the show was one of the best I'd seen in a while. Though in my almost 32 years I've been to several concerts that have been nothing short of great, this one was exceptionally special. Pablo made you feel connected as though the only two people in the room were him and you. The way he connects with his fans, to which to him are family, makes the experience all the more special.  He's an exceptional performer and one who has a beautiful career ahead of him. His music transcends age, time, gender and race. Its the kind of music that soaks you in.

To Pablo,

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your music, for the amazing performance on Sunday in Miami and for being a wonderful human. You truly are an exceptional artist whose talent will never go unnoticed. Keep doing what you're doing. You will always have a fan in me.

Jackie...